Poison & Toxin Database
Plants, foods, medications, and household substances that are dangerous or toxic to cats — including severity, symptoms, and first aid guidance.
⚠ If you suspect poisoning right now
Don't wait for symptoms to appear. Contact your vet or an animal poison control hotline immediately, and bring the packaging or plant material with you if you're heading to a clinic.
Petroleum Products (gasoline, kerosene, lighter fluid, some lubricants)
Hydrocarbon compounds that are directly irritating to skin, the gastrointestinal tract, and — critically, and often the…
highPhenol and Phenolic Disinfectants (some 'pine' style disinfectants, certain essential-oil-based cleaners)
Phenol and related phenolic compounds, to which cats are unusually sensitive for the same underlying reason they're…
highRaw Yeast Dough (unbaked bread dough)
Two entirely separate, simultaneously-acting mechanisms packed into one substance: first, the dough continues to…
highTea Tree Oil
Terpene compounds, including terpinen-4-ol as the primary constituent of concern, which cats cannot efficiently…
mediumBirth Control Pills (estrogen/progestin)
Synthetic estrogen and/or progestin hormones, the active ingredients in most oral contraceptive formulations. A single…
mediumCinnamon Oil
Cinnamaldehyde and eugenol, aromatic phenolic compounds poorly tolerated by cats given their characteristic glucuronyl…
mediumCitrus Oils (d-limonene, linalool)
d-Limonene and linalool, terpene compounds found concentrated in citrus peel oil specifically, which cats metabolize…
mediumDe-icing Salts (sidewalk/road salt)
Sodium chloride and, depending on the specific product, other salts such as calcium chloride or magnesium chloride — in…
mediumDieffenbachia (Dumb Cane)
Insoluble calcium oxalate crystals (raphides) — microscopic, needle-shaped structures stored in specialized plant cells…
mediumEnglish Ivy
Triterpenoid saponins, particularly hederagenin-based compounds, concentrated most heavily in the leaves and berries,…
mediumFabric Softener Sheets and Liquid
Cationic surfactants, specifically quaternary ammonium compounds, which are corrosive to tissue at their full,…
mediumFormaldehyde (some preservatives, certain building materials/adhesives)
Formaldehyde, a chemical irritant and preservative found in some building materials, certain adhesives, and a small…
mediumGrapes and Raisins
Genuinely unknown. Despite the well-documented clinical effect — acute kidney injury — the specific toxic principle in…
mediumPeppermint Oil
Menthol and related phenolic compounds, which cats cannot efficiently metabolize due to the same glucuronyl transferase…
mediumPine Oil
Terpene and phenolic compounds found in pine oil, poorly tolerated by cats given their glucuronyl transferase…
mediumRaw Fish (in large, regular quantities)
Thiaminase, an enzyme present in some raw fish species — particularly certain freshwater fish and some saltwater…
mediumTulip (bulb especially)
Tuliposide A and B, allergenic glycosides that convert to tulipalin A and B on tissue contact — compounds that are…
mediumYlang Ylang Oil
A complex mixture of aromatic compounds poorly tolerated by cats given their characteristic glucuronyl transferase…
mediumZinc (pennies minted after 1982, some hardware/zippers, zinc oxide creams)
Zinc, which causes hemolytic anemia — destruction of red blood cells — and can also affect the pancreas and kidneys…
mildChrysanthemum
Pyrethrins and sesquiterpene lactones, naturally-occurring insecticidal compounds concentrated most heavily in the…
mildHerbicides (glyphosate and similar)
Glyphosate and similar herbicide active ingredients generally have comparatively low toxicity to mammals at the…
mildMacadamia Nuts
Genuinely unknown — and, as a correction reflecting current evidence, macadamia nut toxicosis is well-documented…
mildPhilodendron
Insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, the same raphide mechanism as Dieffenbachia and Pothos — Philodendron is a large…
mildPothos (Devil's Ivy)
Insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, the same mechanically-irritating raphide mechanism described for Dieffenbachia,…